Without much publicity, many huge tankers have sunk to the bottom over the past decade.
On December 2, 1999, the tanker Erica, sailing under the Maltese flag from the French port of Dunkirk to Italy, was caught in a storm and crashed in the Bay of Biscay, near Cape Penmarch on the west coast of France. A ship with a displacement of 50 (according to other sources - 37) thousand tons, loaded with 30 thousand tons of oil products, broke in two.
At the time of the disaster, there was an Indian crew of 26 people on board the ship. The people were lucky to be saved - French and British rescuers managed to transport all the Erika crew members from the life rafts to land using helicopters.
More than half of the cargo - 20 thousand tons of heavy fuel - ended up at sea and then washed ashore. This led to the death of 60 thousand to 300 thousand birds - greatest number flying individuals that have ever died due to an oil spill - and tens of tons of fish. More than 400 km of beaches in France and Spain were covered with a thick layer of oil products.
Two sea tugs left Brest for the site of the Erika disaster. One of them took the bow section into the open ocean, and the other began cleaning the ocean from oil products. 270 thousand tons had to be cleaned and processed sea water, sand and stones, which cost 200 million euros.
The investigation into the circumstances of the disaster lasted more than 6 years, and in the end, investigators came to the conclusion that a significant part of the blame for the incident lay with the Total company, which transported the cargo. In their opinion, when chartering the ship, the company could not help but know that it was too old: by the time the deal was concluded, the giant tanker, rusted through, was 25 years old. 
One of the most expensive trials in French judicial history, the case of the Erica tanker disaster, took place in Paris. The court was considering the sinking of the tanker Erica in 1999 and the pollution of the sea by the spilled oil that devastated the Breton coast of France within days. As a result of the disaster, most of the fuel oil on board ended up in the waters of the Atlantic. An area of about 4,000 km was contaminated. 150 thousand birds died.
The investigation suspects that the tanker was not transporting fuel oil, but toxic and extremely dangerous waste from oil refineries. This is indicated by numerous cases of severe skin lesions in volunteers and rescuers involved in cleaning the coast.
The death of the tanker, which sank in a storm and split in half, has sparked a campaign in Europe to strengthen rules for the safety and operation of oil tankers.
The economic damage from the disaster amounted to more than 1 billion euros for the civil plaintiff (state, public associations, non-governmental organizations). The plaintiffs expect to receive 128 million euros - the amount already agreed with International Foundation compensation for damages for pollution environment hydrocarbon.
The shipowner, as well as the chartering company Total and its branches, appeared in court. After a seven-year investigation, 15 people were charged with polluting the environment, endangering the lives of others and condoning the disaster. The Italian company Rina, which issued a shipping certificate to a tanker built more than a quarter of a century ago, will also have to justify itself.
The prosecution's case rests mainly on the conclusion of the investigation: the Erica could not have sunk if her debt-ridden shipowner had not neglected safety measures to operate her to the last, and if Total had not deviated from its responsibilities in order to pay its contracts on time delivery of goods, avoiding penalties for being late.
The court ruled that Total erred “by negligence” because it did not take into account its age when operating the vessel - the Erica had been in operation for about 25 years - and also that the vessel had been insufficiently maintained. Shipowner Giuseppe Savarese and administrator Antonio Pollara were found guilty of “manifest error” because, according to the court, they could not have been unaware that the reduction in costs renovation work vessels could lead to negative consequences.
In addition to compensation for the damage caused, which amounted to 192 million euros, the perpetrators will have to pay the maximum fine. For legal entities- Total and the Italian classification society Rina - it will be 375 thousand euros, and for individuals - Savarese and Pollara - 75 thousand euros. The court released from liability four rescue workers who were accused of failing to do everything necessary to avoid the sinking of the ship, as well as the Indian captain of the tanker, Karun Mathur.
On October 5, 2011, the huge Liberian tanker Rena, 235 meters long, collided with a reef off the coast . On board the vessel were 2,100 containers, 1,700 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel fuel. About 300 tons of oil spilled into Pacific Ocean, more than 1,000 birds have already died.
In a country that is distinguished by its exceptional ecological purity, a largest for last decades ecological catastrophy.
This happened on October 5, 14 km from Tauranga, a city on the North Island of New Zealand. On October 14, oil continued to spill from the Rena tanker; the leak could not be eliminated. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
The Rena vessel, October 13, 2011. The captain has been charged with a fine of $8,000 or 12 months in prison. (Photo by Mark Allen | Getty Images):
Oil products continue to leak from the vessel. The oil slick reached the coast, damaging some of the country's most popular beaches and wild nature, October 13, 2011. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
The tanker collided with a reef 14 kilometers from Tauranga. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
Aerial view of the Tauranga coast, partially flooded with fuel oil, October 13, 2011. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
(Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
The oil spill has already killed about 1,000 different birds, October 12, 2011. (Photo by Mike Hutchings | AP):
Climate and geographical location Tauranga's cities make tourism and Agriculture main sources of income. This city is one of the most popular holiday destinations in New Zealand. All beaches off the coast of Tauranga are now closed, October 14, 2011. (Photo by Mike Hutchings | AP):
400 military personnel were deployed to clean the coastline, Tauranga, New Zealand, October 13, 2011.
Meanwhile, oil continued to spill into the ocean off the coast of one of the cleanest countries in the world, October 13, 2011. (Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
A crack in the hull of the Rena tanker after a collision with a reef. (Photo by Maritime New Zealand | Getty Images):
And they couldn't do anything about it. (Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
(Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
A container washed up on the shore. (Photo by Alan Gibson | AP):
Some containers contained food. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
Coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, October 14, 2011. (Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
A rehabilitation center has been set up on the coast to rescue injured animals. The first patients were a group of penguins who were being washed clean of oil. (Photo by Bradley Ambrose | Getty Images):
Behind Lately One of New Zealand's worst environmental disasters was the 400 tonne oil spill in 1998, when the Korean fishing vessel Dong Won 529 ran aground near Stewart Island. Tauranga, New Zealand, October 14, 2011. (Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
(Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
And the rescue operation continues. Everything possible is being done to bring the situation under control. (Photo by Nicole Munro | AP):
"Oil Shores" of Tauranga. The name of the city can be translated from the language of the indigenous population of the country as “protected bay,” October 14, 2011. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko | AP):
(Photo by Mike Hewitt | Getty Images):
Rescued penguin, Tauranga, New Zealand. (Photo by Bradley Ambrose | Getty Images):
"Nakhodka" left many stains
Investigators from the prosecutor's office are looking for who blew it up
Today, with a high probability, it can be argued that the death of the Nakhodka tanker in the Sea of Japan is of a criminal nature. Russian Transport Minister Nikolai Tsakh said the accident was caused by an explosion. Law enforcement agencies that began investigating the incident put forward a sensational version: the tanker was blown up in order to cover up traces of the theft of petroleum products worth just under $3 million.
The sailors on the sinking tanker only had time to have breakfast
The criminal case initiated in connection with the Nakhodka crash became known only after the Japanese side insisted on creating a new commission to investigate the causes of the tanker accident. Having begun to study the causes of the disaster, prosecutors first of all drew attention to a number of strange circumstances that accompanied the accident.
The Nakhodka tanker, carrying 20 thousand tons of fuel oil, crashed on January 2, 1997, 105 kilometers from the Japanese island of Oki. The stern of the ship sank, plunging to a depth of 2,500 meters, and the bow was thrown aground by waves near the town of Mikuni on the main Japanese island of Honshu. The entire crew, with the exception of captain Vitaly Melnikov, was saved. According to Japanese experts, about 2-3 thousand tons of oil products spilled from the tanker; As a result, several oil slicks formed on the sea surface.
Prosecutors were surprised that at the time of the disaster, the tanker, for unknown reasons, transmitted the call sign of another Russian merchant ship, which disrupted the work of rescuers for several hours. The shipwreck lasted five hours. During this time, the crew members slowly battened down the hatches and even had time to have breakfast. But for some reason they were unable to save the ship’s documents, including bills of lading (trade declarations) and the oil products loading log. One bag of documents was simply forgotten on board the ship. The other, according to the head of Prisco Traffic Sergei Vetkazov, opened up and all the documents spilled into the water. It is also unclear why captain Viktor Melnikov remained on the deck of the sinking tanker - he had the opportunity to leave Nakhodka along with last group crew members.
Due to the loss of documents, it is now impossible to determine how much fuel oil was in the ship’s tanks. To do this, diving work needs to be carried out, but this can only be done in the spring.
The strange circumstances of the accident led prosecutors to two main versions of the accident: a collision with a half-submerged object or an explosion, possibly of a criminal nature. The last option was confirmed, by the way, by the testimony of the sailors. One of them, Alexander Kondras, who was on watch on the night of the disaster, denied the assumption that the tanker collided with a half-submerged object. According to him, the mechanics in the engine room did not hear the characteristic grinding of metal on the ship’s hull, but they clearly heard the sounds of an explosion. It should be noted that Russian Transport Minister Nikolai Tsakh officially stated that “the cause of the death of the Nakhodka tanker was not a storm or wear and tear of equipment, but the impact external forces, most likely in the form of an explosion." Investigating the version of the explosion, investigators began to consider the motives for such a crime. According to their assumption, it was possible that the Nakhodka was sunk to cover up a large-scale theft of oil products. Therefore, the first thing they tried to do was find out who owned the fuel oil, who was transporting a tanker to Kamchatka.
"They already make good money"
The scheme for supplying heating oil to Kamchatka for government needs is as follows. Every year the government allocates quotas for the Kamchatka administration for the export of crude oil (in 1996 it amounted to 1 million 200 tons). The proceeds are used to purchase fuel oil for local thermal power plants. The administration's executor is the Kamchatenergo enterprise, which sells crude oil on the foreign market (through intermediaries) within the quota. To carry out transactions, Kamchatenergo enters into a commission agreement with the operating company.
The head of Kamchatenergo JSC, Evgeny Klochkov, said that the operator and shipper of the fuel oil loaded into Nakhodka were the Chinese company Saynochem and the British Chemo-Petrol. They first sold the oil received under the state quota, and with the proceeds they were supposed to purchase and supply fuel oil to Kamchatka. According to the prosecutor's office, instead of the estimated 19 thousand tons, 2-3 thousand tons could have been purchased for about $3 million. On the way to Kamchatka, the tanker was blown up, and the small amount of fuel that leaked out was supposed to convince that the tanks were full.
The following facts support this version. "Nakhodka" followed from Shanghai, the largest, according to law enforcement, an Asian hub for the smuggling of petroleum products. By the way, the head of Kamchatenergo JSC is surprised that the tanker came from China: last years commission oil operators, like Sainokem and Chemo-Petrol, buy fuel oil in Singapore or Korea - it is much cheaper there. In addition, according to Klochkov, Kamchatenergo did not receive money for the oil transferred to Sainokem under the state quota.
At the same time, Chemo-Petrol representative Viktor Sakhnyuk rejected all assumptions about the involvement of his management in fraud with the tanker’s cargo. He stated that Chemo-Petrol has never been an oil operator supplying fuel oil to Kamchatka for government needs. Moreover, they never entered into a contractual relationship with Kamchatenergo: “Chemo-Petrol works on direct supplies of petroleum products to Russia, including Kamchatka, along with the companies Sainokem, Yukong-Line and others. For example, for Nakhodka, Chemo-Petrol entered into a contract with the Saynochem company to purchase fuel from them on an “ex-ship” basis (a contract condition under which the seller pays all expenses until the unloading port), that is, we were not the owners of the cargo before arrival it to the port of destination. The ship was chartered by Saynochem, and the cargo belonged to this company."
One of Chemo-Petrol’s long-time partners, a representative of the Kamchatka company Vedis, Vladimir Lutsenko, is sure that there is no crime in this story: “Chemo-Petrol currently provides 30% of the total volume of fuel oil supplies to Kamchatka. It already makes good money, why steal for her."
To finally settle on the version of the explosion, prosecutors need an expert opinion. But there is no way to get it yet: the stern part of the tanker rests at a depth of 2.5 thousand meters, and Japanese rescuers do not allow them to approach the bow part, which ran aground 400 meters off the coast of the Japanese province of Fukui.
DENIS Ъ-DEMKIN, ALEXANDER Ъ-MALTSEV, VADIM Ъ-BRATUKHIN, LEONID Ъ-BERRES
The tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico showed how man with his own hands can destroy nature with the help of nature within a few weeks. While BP is urgently looking for money to restore the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and the US authorities are deciding what to do with offshore drilling, we propose to recall the 10 largest black gold spills on water in the history of mankind.
1.In 1978 The tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany (France). Due to stormy weather, it was impossible to carry out a rescue operation. At that time, this accident was the largest environmental disaster in the history of Europe. It is estimated that 20 thousand birds died. More than 7 thousand people took part in the rescue efforts. 223 thousand tons of oil spilled into the water, forming a spot measuring two thousand square kilometers. Oil also spread to 360 kilometers of the French coast. According to some scientists, the ecological balance in this region has not yet been restored.
2. In 1979 The largest accident in history occurred on the Mexican oil platform Ixtoc I. As a result, up to 460 thousand tons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Elimination of the consequences of the accident took almost a year. It is curious that for the first time in history, special flights were organized to evacuate sea turtles from the disaster zone. The leak was stopped only after nine months, during which time 460 thousand tons of oil entered the Gulf of Mexico. The total damage is estimated at $1.5 billion.
3. Also in 1979 The largest oil spill in history occurred due to a tanker collision. Then two tankers collided in the Caribbean Sea: Atlantic Empress and Aegean Captain. As a result of the accident, almost 290 thousand tons of oil entered the sea. One of the tankers sank. By a happy coincidence, the disaster occurred on the high seas, and not a single coast (the closest was the island of Trinidad) was damaged.
4. In March 1989 oil tanker The Exxon Valdez, owned by the American company Exxon, ran aground in Prince Williams Sound off the coast of Alaska. Through a hole in the ship, over 48 thousand tons of oil spilled into the ocean. As a result, over 2.5 thousand square kilometers of marine waters were damaged, and 28 species of animals were threatened with extinction. The area of the accident was difficult to access (it can only be reached by sea or by helicopter), which made it impossible for services and rescuers to quickly respond. As a result of the disaster, about 10.8 million gallons of oil (about 260 thousand barrels or 40.9 million liters) spilled into the sea, forming an oil slick covering 28 thousand square kilometers. In total, the tanker was carrying 54.1 million gallons of oil. About two thousand kilometers of coastline were polluted with oil.
5. In 1990 Iraq captured Kuwait. The troops of the anti-Iraqi coalition, formed by 32 states, defeated the Iraqi army and liberated Kuwait. However, in preparation for the defense, the Iraqis opened the valves at the oil terminals and emptied several tankers laden with oil. This step was taken in order to complicate the landing of troops. Up to 1.5 million tons of oil ( various sources give different data) spilled into the Persian Gulf. As they were going fighting, no one fought the consequences of the disaster for some time. Oil covered approximately 1 thousand square meters. km. surface of the bay and polluted about 600 km. coasts. In order to prevent further oil spills, US aircraft bombed several Kuwaiti oil pipelines.
6 In January 2000 A major oil spill occurred in Brazil. More than 1.3 million liters of oil fell into the waters of Guanabara Bay, on the shore of which Rio de Janeiro is located, from the Petrobras company pipeline, which led to the largest environmental disaster in the history of the metropolis. According to biologists, it will take nature almost a quarter of a century to fully restore environmental damage. Brazilian biologists compared the scale of the environmental disaster with the consequences of the war in Persian Gulf. Fortunately, the oil was stopped. She passed four urgently constructed barriers with the current and “stuck” only on the fifth. Some of the raw materials have already been removed from the surface of the river, some have spilled into special diversion channels dug on an emergency basis. The remaining 80 thousand gallons out of a million (4 million liters) that fell into the reservoir were scooped out by workers by hand.
7. In November 2002 The tanker Prestige broke apart and sank off the coast of Spain. 64 thousand tons of fuel oil ended up in the sea. €2.5 million was spent on eliminating the consequences of the accident. After this incident, the EU blocked single-hull tankers from accessing its waters. The age of the sunken ship is 26 years. It was built in Japan and owned by a company registered in Liberia, which in turn is managed by a Greek firm registered in the Bahamas and certified by an American organization. The ship was chartered by a Russian company operating in Switzerland, which transports oil from Latvia to Singapore. The Spanish government has filed a $5 billion lawsuit against the US Maritime Bureau for the role its negligence played in the Prestige tanker disaster off the coast of Galicia last November.
8. In August 2006 year, a tanker accident occurred in the Philippines. Then 300 km of coastline in two provinces of the country, 500 hectares of mangrove forests and 60 hectares of seaweed plantations were polluted. The Taklong Marine Reserve, which was home to 29 species of coral and 144 species of fish, was also damaged. As a result of the fuel oil spill, about 3 thousand Filipino families were affected. Tanker "Solar 1" (Solar 1) of the Sunshine Maritne Development Corporation, was hired to transport 1800 tons of fuel oil from the Philippines state company"Petron" Local fishermen, who previously could catch up to 40-50 kg of fish per day, now struggle to catch up to 10 kg. To do this, they have to go far from where pollution spreads. But even this fish cannot be sold. The province, which just graduated from the list of the 20 poorest regions in the Philippines, appears to be slipping back into poverty for years to come.
9. November 11, 2007 year storm in Kerch Strait became the cause of an unprecedented emergency in the Azov and Black Seas - in one day four ships sank, six more ran aground, two tankers were damaged. More than 2 thousand tons of fuel oil spilled from the broken tanker Volgoneft-139 into the sea, and about 7 thousand tons of sulfur were on the sunken dry cargo ships. Rosprirodnadzor estimated the environmental damage caused by the wreck of several ships in the Kerch Strait at 6.5 billion rubles. The damage from the death of birds and fish in the Kerch Strait alone was estimated at approximately 4 billion rubles.
10. April 20, 2010 At 22:00 local time, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon platform, causing a large fire. As a result of the explosion, seven people were injured, four of them are in critical condition, and 11 people are missing. In total, at the time of the emergency, 126 people were working on the drilling platform, which is larger than two football fields, and about 2.6 million liters of diesel fuel were stored. The platform's capacity was 8 thousand barrels per day. It is estimated that up to 5 thousand barrels (about 700 tons) of oil per day are spilled into the waters in the Gulf of Mexico. However, experts do not rule out that in the near future this figure could reach 50 thousand barrels per day due to the appearance of additional leaks in the well pipe. In early May 2010, US President Barack Obama called what was happening in the Gulf of Mexico “a potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.” Oil slicks were discovered in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico (one slick 16 km long and 90 meters thick at a depth of up to 1300 meters). Oil may continue to flow from the well until August.